


snatched

by mingowow



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: College AU, First Meetings, Fluff, Humor, M/M, happy new year, kmg wjh ksy jww roommates, mingyu works at a claw machine arcade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22034749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mingowow/pseuds/mingowow
Summary: mingyu's hyungs assured him that working at an arcade would be an awesome job... but he's not sure if they're right.
Relationships: Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 24
Kudos: 144





	snatched

**Author's Note:**

  * For [were1993](https://archiveofourown.org/users/were1993/gifts).



> some winter/new years cute fluff. happy new year, have a safe and lovely 2020!
> 
> for liz, who loves claw machines.
> 
> unbeta'd, sorry!

It would be fun, Soonyoung had said.

It would be easy money, Jun had insisted.

It would give him plenty of time to get studying done, Wonwoo had assured him.

It would be a great job, they all had promised him.

Liars, the lot of them. All filthy liars.

It’s been just under a month since Mingyu started his job at the arcade. It had sounded so promising; getting paid to hang out at an _arcade_. His eight-year-old self would have squealed with joy if he knew where he’d end up in the future.

But there’s no glamour to the life of an arcade attendant, especially the likes of one Mingyu is at. It’s lined with two rows of banged up claw machines, the kind he constantly has to do basic maintenance on. It’s a good thing he’s skilled with his hands; it’s probably the one reason he’s been able to keep the job. The owner (his boss), Mr. Ko, has a handful of these locations and each is as sad as the next. They aren’t situated in Myeongdong or along the always busy streets of Hongdae, so there’s a lot of dead time where it’s just Mingyu, alone.

Which would be great (if he could use the time to squeeze in some studying like Wonwoo had sworn he’d be able to) if it weren’t for the fact that the owner of the rundown arcade was addicted to monitoring the CCTV for who knows what reason.

Mingyu hadn't gotten two pages into his reading before his boss was calling him and _kindly_ reminding him that there must be something productive (meaning _work related_ ) for him to do.

Maybe it's the fact that it's near freezing and there's that looming, ominous feeling that the end of every year always brings, but eventually Mingyu stops caring so much about his boss spying on him.

Sure, he still makes sure to thoroughly and diligently clean (sweeping beneath all the machines, cleaning off the glass covered in fingerprints and child-size face smudges) and complete his daily duties (emptying change machines, restocking machines, rearranging mountains of Pikachus and Kakao Friends dolls), but the speed with which he can complete his responsibilities now leaves him plenty of time to kick back a little.

And if his boss ever feels the need to call him, he's confident in his justification... to the point where Mr. Ko hardly calls anymore because even if Mingyu has his nose buried in a textbook or is chatting with one of his friends that have dropped by to visit, he has completed everything he is supposed to. He’s completed it _and_ done it well!

It's the first weekend in December and it's cold. Not unbearably cold, but it's still an adjustment from the warmer weather they had been having and Mingyu's not used to it. He cranks up the heating in the small arcade and in no time, the windows of the storefront are fogged up.

"C'mon, hyung," Mingyu whines into the phone.

He's got his earbuds in as he fiddles around with a claw that has a weak arm. Mr. Ko probably wouldn't care about that, more money spent on the machine without customers having a pay-out, but Mingyu could never stand for something like that.

"You'll live. You just had chicken the other night," Wonwoo laughs from the other end of the line.

Mingyu would never admit to the amount of FOMO he experiences but given that Wonwoo and Jun get to work _together_ at a board game cafe and Soonyoung works for his cousin, which means he gets aways with _everything_ and can pretty much pick and choose his own schedule... okay, yeah. Mingyu has minor breakdowns about missing out on his closest hyungs and roommates doing all sorts of exciting things without him.

Like getting chicken delivered and marathoning old Batman movies.

"Try to stay up until I get off," he barters weakly, just as he tightens the fixing on the weak claw arm. He tests it out and there, much better. Much more _fair_.

Wonwoo must be able to hear the pout in his voice because he laughs again. "Okay, okay. I'll try to keep the guys up until then."

Mingyu is about to thank him when he hears the door to the arcade slide open. From his position on his knees, he can't see who enters but he calls out a welcome to them anyway.

"Gotta go, hyung," he whispers into the mouthpiece on his earbuds before hanging up the call.

When he pops up onto his feet, he wanders back to his desk at the front of the narrow room, peering around for the visitor. All he sees is a puffy jacket-covered arm turn a corner just as he gets back to his chair.

It's the first customer he's had since he started his shift almost two hours ago and while most people wouldn't care, Mingyu is a very social person. A very needy social person.

He watches the form lurk around the rows before settling in front of a smaller machine full of generic frog plushies, all in various outfits and poses. Mingyu hears the stranger insert a bill and listens to the familiar clicking of the claw moving around. He can't see it clearly but he notices the claw drop and pull something up, only to drop the green blob back down as it moves to the release door.

The customer shuffles down the aisle and Mingyu thinks it's a bit strange, how they tried one go and are now hightailing out of there.

"Have a good night," Mingyu calls out to the hooded figure. His words must be heard because the person stutters in their step before stopping and glancing at Mingyu properly.

It's a guy who seems to be about Mingyu's own age, which makes him smile unintentionally. It must come off as odd because the other guy's brow furrows before he quickly exits the arcade.

Mingyu sighs and checks the time on his phone: another 4 hours until he can head home.

\---

Mingyu doesn't think about the guy afterwards.

That is, until he comes in the next evening.

The arcade isn't empty when he does; Mingyu attests it to the slightly warmer temperatures. It always seems that after a cold day, when there are milder weather days, people seem to seize the opportunity to spend their time outside.

There's a couple that's been huddled together trying to get a Hello Kitty doll for about fifteen minutes and a trio of kids that keep pounding their grubby hands all over a machine in the back corner.

Mingyu's been alternating between telling them off and trying to scrub off all the gross nose and mouth impression smears from a toddler earlier (as the father, was so focused on winning a mini collection of key-rings, didn't notice his own child practically licking the glass of multiple arcade games).

The door slides open and Mingyu huffs, blowing his now messy hair out of his eyes as he pauses his scrubbing.

"Welcome," he calls out, voice a bit duller than normal.

The rowdy boys in the back start cursing and Mingyu glares over at them. "Hey! Watch the language!"

While they only snort and snicker in response, Mingyu glances at the new patron and his face must reflect some acknowledgement because the guy, the same guy from last night, is openly staring back at him.

Mingyu smiles at him and then it registers in his mind, what his appearance is like: messy hair, shirt sleeves sloppily rolled up to his elbows, bottle of window cleaner awkwardly hanging from his belt loop.

The mystery guy doesn't seem to care though because before Mingyu can even register anything to say to him, he's shuffling down the aisle, brushing past Mingyu, and stopping at the same machine as the night before: the one filled with arguably ugly frog plushies.

Mingyu watches, curiously, as the boy puts in a single blue bill and jerks the claw around. He can tell by the movements and the near apathy that the guy is not super experienced in claw machines. Either that or he just doesn't care.

The claw drops and comes up empty. The guy looks over at Mingyu and he swears he is about to say something when the stupid teenagers in the back break out into hoots and hollers. It's loud enough to cause the Hello Kitty couple to jump in surprise and glance at the boys, a bit annoyed.

"Hey, keep it down!" Mingyu tells them, his neck craned to give the unresponsive teens a stern look.

And by the time his focus shifts back to the Mystery Frog Man, all Mingyu sees is the back of his long padded jacket wandering out the door.

It happens similarly every day, for a whole week straight.

The guy comes in, acknowledges Mingyu's existence with a look (or if he's lucky, a head nod), but never words. He puts in one bill and plays the same frog stuffed toy machine one time before leaving promptly after, usually with another lingering look Mingyu’s way.

Mingyu doesn't get it. He doesn't understand why the guy comes in, why he plays one time and then just leaves. That's not how claw machines _work_ , he wants to tell the guy. And the guy clearly wants one of the frogs, it's the only game he ever tries. But does Mingyu ever work up the courage to say anything about it? No.

He doesn't know why it bothers him so much, he doesn't know why he's taken such an interest in the silent, odd customer. But it bothers Mingyu so much that while he's trying to study for his final exams (that start in two days), he can't stop checking the time and wondering when the stranger will come in tonight.

He thinks of what he could say, how he could start a conversation of some sort, but for all the social graces and skills Mingyu has, he's never encountered someone like this before, someone that he's been so interested in connecting with.

And then, in a stroke of brilliance, he comes up with a genius idea.

With a new pep in his step, Mingyu scurries over to the frog filled machine and fumbles with his keys to open the thing. One may think that there isn't much skill in situating stuffed toys in a claw machine but they would be wrong. It's an art form, one that Mingyu has mastered, to the point where he can now walk up to any claw game anywhere and fairly accurately estimate how many tries it would take him to win any particular toy.

So with the science of arcade managing in his back pocket, he rearranges all the various frogs, jamming and cramming them down together so they are all hidden and wedged in there. All except one, a cute little guy in a yellow rain jacket with a matching yellow rain hat. The rainy day frog is carefully placed on top of the packed mountain of his frog companions and when Mingyu locks up the door, he admires his handiwork for a short moment.

Anyone who has any common sense to their name would only ever try for the rain jacket clad frog. And Mingyu positioned it in a way that even if the claw were to drop it (which it statistically would most likely do in only one try), it would tumble its way down the drop slot and into the hands of the lucky winner.

Which, hopefully, would be the Mystery Frog Man.

Why did Mingyu want the guy to win a cheap, un-licensed frog toy from a dinky old claw machine? He couldn't find a good explanation himself; but he wanted it to happen anyway.

Perhaps it would be a way to finally break the ice and converse. Maybe it was because the past week of watching the guy unenthusiastically and unskillfully attempt the game had him itching to help out. Possibly because he wondered if winning the toy would cause the guy to wear an expression other than a blank face or furrowed forehead.

The arcade door slides open and Mingyu all but jumps out of his skin as he's brought back to the present. And, as fate would have it, of course the customer is Mystery Frog Man himself.

Mingyu scurries away from the frog-filled case to seem less suspicious, unnecessarily wiping down the glass of another machine down the line.

"Hi again," he greets, proud of him for at least changing up his welcome. It seems to be a good move because he doesn't just get a look today; he gets a nod _and_ what Mingyu would definitely call a faint, tight-lipped smile.

As predicted, the guy walks up to the frog machine and puts in his money. Mingyu watches from the corner of his eye, stupidly wiping the same small circle of glass over and over again.

The claw jostles around and as his bait intended, the guy drops it down over the rain jacket frog.

And Mingyu, proud of his own pointless achievement, can't hold back his grin as the plushie tumbles down into the tunnel, out to the flimsy plastic door to be retrieved.

Mingyu drops his facade and turns to the guy. "Wow, you got one! Congratulations!"

See, brilliant icebreaker technique.

Except for someone who just won a toy on a 1,000 won first try, the guy doesn't seem too impressed. Mingyu would even argue he looks a bit disappointed, which doesn't make sense in the arcade attendant's head.

The guy crouches down and pulls out the frog, inspecting it before he stands up straight again and glances over at Mingyu.

"Thanks," he replies.

It's the first time Mingyu has heard his voice, he realizes. He doesn't know what he was expecting and it was just a singular phrase muttered, but it has Mingyu wanting to pull more out of him.

But he's too slow because the guy is almost carelessly shoving the toy into the pocket of his jacket before he turns around and scampers out the door.

Mingyu, confused and admittedly a bit disappointed, finishes his pointless cleaning before calling Soonyoung to tell him all about the Mystery Frog Man and how he just can't seem to crack his padded jacket shell. Soonyoung and Wonwoo drop by shortly after, claiming out of hyung-ly concern (but Mingyu is sure it’s boredom).

"So he just took the prize and left?"

"Yeah."

"And he looked upset that he had won it?"

"Yeah!"

"Huh," Soonyoung hums, tapping his chin in a way that is far too cinematic.

"What does that mean?" Mingyu asks, leaning over the tiny arcade counter and closer towards his hyung.

"I don't know," Soonyoung shrugs, dropping his hand before wandering over to a machine overflowing with Apeach plushies.

With a groan, Mingyu's head smacks down on the countertop.

"Leave him alone, Soonyoung. He should be studying," Wonwoo's voice rings out as he rounds the corner with a Santa themed stuffed turtle in his arms.

Soonyoung squeals at the sight of it, scampering over and trying to get at it with his grabby hands. But Wonwoo simply holds it up and out of his reach, to which Soonyoung juts out his lower lip.

"Like he could study with all of this drama going on," Soonyoung huffs, settling for petting the toy turtle and squeezing the ball of its Santa hat.

"Drama?" Wonwoo snorts. "So some guy doesn't _squeal_ over winning a stuffed animal. How is that drama?"

Mingyu groans because, like usual, his Wonwoo hyung has a point.

"Even you have to admit it's weird! Why would the guy come in every single day just to play one buck?"

"Maybe he's on a budget," Wonwoo tries to reason.

"But why one time every day? Why not save up and come in when you can try more than once and have a much better chance at winning?" Soonyoung argues.

"Right!" Mingyu calls out in agreement.

"Maybe he was conducting an experiment or working on a thesis regarding the timeline and process of winning at a claw machine game under those restraints." Soonyoung and Mingyu blink over at the four-eyed boy. "And you completely ruined all his hard work by rigging the machine just so you had an excuse to talk to him."

"Do you hear yourself sometimes?" Soonyoung asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Do you hear yourself _ever_?" Wonwoo counters, which sets into motion the all-too-common bicker fest.

"Hyungs!" Mingyu calls out, causing the squabbling to halt. "Wonwoo hyung is right, I really should be studying."

The two visitors take the hint and bid their farewells, leaving Mingyu alone with his untouched class notes and a mind racing all over the ridiculous Mystery Frog Man.

\---

Mystery Frog Man doesn't come the next day. Or the day after that. In fact, he doesn't come for the next four shifts Mingyu works and to say he's disappointed would be an understatement.

> _I guess he really was just coming in to try and win a frog.._ he types into the group chat he has with his hyungs.
> 
> _You're still stuck on this guy?_ Wonwoo replies almost instantly.
> 
> _Ignore him, Mingyu. Wonwoo is the GRINCH!!_ comes Soonyoung's response, followed by a string of emojis.

About now would be where Mingyu would expect Jun's laughter, but the chat quiets with the exception of Wonwoo sending an animated eye-roll.

The arcade door slides open and Mingyu quickly drops his phone down, just as he feels it vibrate with a sudden onslaught of multiple messages.

"Welc--" he begins, but the words fall off his tongue at the sight of no one other than Mystery Frog Man. "Oh, hi!" he quickly recovers, trying to bite back his smile. He ignores the vibrating of his phone on the countertop even though it goes off one, two, three more times.

The guy looks at him briefly but his head quickly turns towards the door and Mingyu catches him mumbling something. It's not Korean, it sounds like Mandarin, if his ears aren't deceiving him. Jun had taken the time to teach him a bit before and while Mingyu hadn't committed much to memory, he recalled a lot of the sounds and--

"Jun hyung?" he calls out dumbly at the sight of his hyung hovering in the doorway. The manner in which his feet are shuffling and how he has his shoulders hunched is a sure giveaway at his nervousness.

Jun raises his hand, phone clenched in its grip, and waves. Mingyu can see the Kakao chat window open on it and the profile picture that is most definitely his.

He picks up his phone and scrolls through the frantic (and typo-ridden) messages from Jun in their group chat.

> _Oh god Mingyu!! I know him!  
>  I know msytry frog mAN!!  
>  Mingyu answer!!!!!  
>  WE ARE COMING NOW!!  
>  MINGYU I DIDNT KNOW I KNEW HIM!  
>  WE ARE HREE  
>  MINGYU_

"Heeeey, Mingyu," Jun greets with the laugh that Mingyu knows to mean he is absolutely petrified. He's practically dancing with the way he's nervously bopping around on his feet.

Mingyu's hand buzzes in his hand and he glances at it again.

> _Oh my god_ Wonwoo replies.
> 
> _JUNNIE YOU KNOW HIM!!??  
>  TS A DRAMA  
>  I TOLD YOU WONWOO!!!!  
>  SUCK IT!!!_ Soonyoung floods the chat.

Mingyu looks up at the two awkwardly standing in the doorway. Poor Mystery Frog Man appears to be the most confused, and rightfully so.

"Um," Jun starts, clearing his throat. "Mingyu, this is my friend Minghao. Minghao, this is Mingyu."

Mystery Frog Man's ( _Minghao's_ ) eyes go a bit wide before he looks between the two of them and he asks Jun something in Mandarin, to which the other smiles almost apologetically before nodding.

"We live together, with Soonyoung and Wonwoo," he explains in Korean with a shaky laugh.

"Eh?" The way Minghao's voice raises and cracks; Mingyu would find it endearing if he wasn't a bundle of nerves.

He's not sure exactly what's going on, but somehow Jun knows Mystery Frog Man and Mystery Frog Man at least knows _of_ Wonwoo and Soonyoung. Which means Mingyu is somewhat the odd man out.

"Hi," he sputters out finally, giving a small wave. "I'm Mingyu."

Despite his shocked expression, Minghao manages to turn towards him and bow his head a little. It feels so formal.

"Hello. I'm Minghao."

His introduction is abrupt because he's mumbling to Jun again in Mandarin, swatting at his arm and turning away from Mingyu once more.

Mingyu watches curiously, desperately wanting to be in on their conversation (damn you, FOMO), and Jun seems keen on filling him in with the way his eyes keep flickering over to Mingyu. They seem to be screaming _I'm so sorry_ and Mingyu isn't sure why.

So Jun knew the Mystery Frog Man Mingyu had told his hyungs about; how was Jun supposed to know it was a friend of his? Mingyu didn't care. If anything, this was great! It was the perfect excuse to talk to Minghao beyond polite greetings and congratulations over winning plushies from rigged games.

"It's nice to properly meet you!" Mingyu calls out, perhaps a bit too eagerly. It seems to halt whatever Minghao was whispering to Jun because his body visibly freezes.

"Have a good night," Minghao says all too quickly, nodding his head at Mingyu before he's zooming out the door again, dragging Jun along with him.

Jun mouths an over-exaggerated ' _sorry_ ' and he frantically waves his free hand at Mingyu, just barely pulling it out in time as the door swipes closed.

Confused and honestly a bit put-off, Mingyu picks up his phone and quickly types out a message to his one-on-one chat with Jun:

> _Hyung... what was that about?_

\---

"So wait, let me get this straight... Mystery Frog Man--"

"Minghao," Jun and Mingyu both chime in together.

Mingyu is sprawled on the floor like a starfish, replaying the evening's events over and over in his head, trying to decipher why Minghao had been so flighty around him. And Jun, who claims he can't tell them anything specific because he's sworn to secrecy, is curled up in the corner of the couch. Mingyu knows he genuinely feels bad because he hasn't touched his phone since he walked in the door (a rare, if never before seen occurrence), so Mingyu doesn't hold it against him. There must be a reason behind it.

Soonyoung sighs and rolls his eyes, shoveling a handful of popcorn into his mouth before talking between chews. "Sorry, _Minghao_ told you," he points a finger at Jun, "he wanted to show you some guy, who happened to be Mingyu."

"Right, but I didn't know it was Mingyu until we got there!" Jun glances at Mingyu again and laugh nervously; Mingyu just smiles at him from his upside down view from the floor.

"But you can't tell us _why_ he wanted to take you to Mingyu?"

Wonwoo groans, flipping his book shut from his place at the other end of the couch. "How many times are you going to go through this?"

"Look, I'm just trying to help out here. What are you doing to help, Wonwoo?"

"How is you asking for twenty reiterations of the same scenario helping at all?" Wonwoo snorts.

"Guys," Mingyu groans. "Let's just drop it. I respect Jun Hyung's silence on the matter so let's leave it be. It's not like it matters anyway."

"It doesn't matter?" Soonyoung says, spitting half-chewed kernels out with each syllable. "This is the love connection of the century and Junnie is cock-blocking them!"

"I'm sorry!" Jun blurts out. "I promised Minghao I wouldn't say anything."

The admission gets a reaction out of Soonyoung, who springs to his feet to squat in front of Jun's position on the couch.

"So there _is_ something to tell!"

"Hyung," Mingyu whines at Soonyoung. At the same time, Wonwoo chucks a slipper at his head, cackling when he successfully smacks him in the ear.

"I don't want to be in the middle!" Jun cries out, covering his face with his arms.

"Just leave it alone, hyung," Mingyu practically begs, swatting at Soonyoung's leg. "It's really not that big of a deal. I tried talking to Minghao and if he doesn't wanna talk to me, that's that. There's nothing I can do. So let's just drop it. Please?"

Jun peeks out from behind his hands and looks at Mingyu in a peculiar way, almost as if he wants to say something. But he doesn't.

Thankfully though, that's the end of the discussion. Soonyoung mutters under his breath and wanders off to the kitchen while Wonwoo takes his book into his bedroom and makes sure to shut the door.

Mingyu finally sits up from his sprawled out position on the floor and turns to face Jun properly.

"Sorry you're in this position, hyung. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable at all," Mingyu tells him.

Jun smiles at him, tight-lipped, before reaching out to ruffle Mingyu's hair. "You don't have to be sorry. I wish I could say more but... I gave my word to him."

Something in Mingyu's chest twinges, thoughts bubbling up as if he did something wrong, something to offend or upset Minghao. Maybe Minghao confided that in Jun and made the other Chinese boy swear to not tell him about it.

The concern must be evident on Mingyu's face because Jun pats his cheek fondly.

"All I can say is that you shouldn't be fretting about it too much. Okay?"

Mingyu gives him a half-smile before he nods. He's got no reason to not trust Jun's words.

\---

Christmas comes and goes all too quickly. The four friends-slash-roommates do a Secret Santa between themselves since they're all single and have no date plans; Mingyu buys Soonyoung a god-awful ugly blanket with a large tiger face knitted into it (which he of course loves). Jun gets Mingyu a cookbook full of different Chinese dishes. It's all written in Chinese too, which is inconvenient but charmingly authentic, so Mingyu asks if Jun is going to help him with it. The elder had just grinned in his mischievous way before slithering away without an explanation.

The post-Christmas rush is all too real at work. Most kids are out of school for the time being, meaning the arcade is constantly buzzing with activity and noisiness. Mingyu has lost count of the number of times he's had to tell a kid off for slamming on machines or spilling their soda or snacks all over the floor.

To make matters worse, Mr. Ko keeps messaging him about things he already knows. The old man really needs to get another hobby besides monitoring the CCTV like it's a drama.

It's been so busy lately that he hasn't even had much time to dwell on Mystery Frog Man Minghao and the whole situation surrounding them. Though every time he passes the machine filled with frog plushies, his mind sometimes flickers back to him.

But there are other things to focus on now! Like taking care of the machines! And scolding children! And dealing with his overbearing boss!

And between messages from Mr. Ko, Mingyu's trying to juggle the never quiet group chat with his roommates.

For New Years, they're planning on having a small little party at their place. Typically they go out drinking on New Years Eve, but Mingyu has to work until 10 and the others were kind enough to accommodate him. Coming home after a long day sounded a lot nicer than having to bar hop into the early morning.

But between keeping his boss off his back and wrangling up buck-wild children, he's missed a few key points in their planning.

> Jun:  
>  _Mingyu can cook dinner!  
>  He can use that new cookbook i got him ^^_
> 
> Wonwoo:  
>  _Mingyu is working until 10..._
> 
> Soonyoung:  
>  _well IM not cooking_
> 
> Wonwoo:  
>  _neither of us are cooking, we'd kill everyone  
>  Junnie, you cook_
> 
> Jun:  
>  _I always cook >< I want a break~  
>  Mingyu will get some help, I promise!!_
> 
> Soonyoung:  
>  _okay, im sold_
> 
> Wonwoo:  
>  _..._

Mingyu huffs at the group chat and is about to reply with his slight annoyance at the situation, but there's sudden screeching coming from the back of the arcade. If another kid tried to stick his arm up inside the machine to steal a toy, he swears to god...

\---

New Years Eve evening is a whirlwind. It's perhaps one of the busiest days of the year at the arcade; so much so that Mr. Ko is there himself helping Mingyu run things. It's not ideal, given that Mingyu knows he shouldn't be chit-chatting with customers the way he usually does or constantly checking his phone throughout the shift with his boss looming around. But the extra help is nice. For once, he doesn't have to be the bad guy to kids goofing off and beating up the claw machines.

The end of his shift rolls around and he can tell Mr. Ko is about to ask him to stay later (the arcade is supposed to close in an hour), but thankfully a middle-aged woman saves the day by interrupting them to complain about the coin machine eating her bill. Mingyu is able to slip away unnoticed.

As burnt out as he is, he's excited to spend the evening with his friends. He knows a few of the other guys from school are coming; it's been a while since he's hung out with so many people and it'll be nice to feed that social butterfly part of himself.

Oh but _dinner_. He had nearly forgotten about how he got roped into cooking for everyone. The excitement that had kept him from dragging his feet waned ever so slightly. But at least Jun had assured him he wouldn't have to cook it all alone.

The house is full of more people than Mingyu had anticipated; _many_ more. He recognizes most of the usual suspects from their university (Seungcheol, Seokmin, Jihoon) but there are a few faces he can't quite recall.

The first of his roommates he spots is Wonwoo. He grabs his arm in a panic, almost causing the elder to spill whatever liquid is in his plastic cup.

"Hyung! There are like," Mingyu's eyes flicker around the room, "twenty people here!"

"Yes...?" Wonwoo replies, blinking owlishly. He even brings his cup to his mouth and takes a sip. The audacity!

"How am I supposed to make enough food for this many people?!" Mingyu whisper-yells. He can already feel himself begin to sweat.

Wonwoo shrugs. "Don't worry about it. Just make ramen or order pizzas or something."

"But Jun hyung wanted me to cook something from that Chinese cookbook he got me!"

"Then make him help you. I'm not the food guy, there's nothing I can do. Sorry, Mingyu." Wonwoo claps his shoulder before wandering to the couch where Seungcheol and someone from Soonyoung's dance group (Chan?) are practically screaming at each other over a FIFA video game match.

Mingyu scans the room quickly, trying to spot Jun. He sees Soonyoung (already drunk) dancing obnoxiously with (an equally drunk) Seokmin. There's a large group of people huddled around a laptop, Mingyu can't make out who half of them are. But then he hears a laugh he'd recognize anywhere and the seal-clapping mannerisms that only one person he knows possesses.

While Jun is keeled over in laughter, Mingyu grabs him from under the arms and yanks him up, quite literally dragging him into the kitchen.

"Hyung," he huffs, cornering the elder. Jun just tilts his head and grins at him. "If you want me to cook for everyone, you need to help me."

"Hm?" Jun hums, as if he has no idea what Mingyu is going on about.

"The Chinese food! For the fifty people out there--"

"Thirteen," Jun interrupts.

"Huh?"

"There are thirteen people, including you and me," Jun smiles.

"Yeah, well whatever, I thought there'd be like half of that! I've never cooked Chinese food, I don't know what I'm doing so you need to help me."

Jun starts to hum and weasels his way away from Mingyu to pull open the fridge. It's filled with all kinds of fresh ingredients, more than Mingyu has ever seen in their place. What sticks out the most is the ungodly amount of tofu stacked in there.

"I bought everything you need to make this," Jun tells him, whipping out the cookbook he had gifted Mingyu a week ago. He flips it open to a marked page and turns the book for Mingyu to see.

"Hyung. It's written in Chinese,” Mingyu reminds him.

"Well, yeah! It's a Chinese cookbook," Jun grins before dropping the book onto the countertop and wandering back towards the living room.

"You need to help me translate it!" Mingyu calls out, his panic levels steadily rising.

Jun waves a hand at him without turning around. "Help is coming!"

He doesn't know what that means, he doesn't have the time or patience to decipher Jun's ridiculous riddles right now. He pulls open the fridge again and scans over the items, noting that a number of them are things with Chinese labels or items he's never cooked with before. Perhaps Wonwoo is right, maybe he should just give in and cook a giant pot of ramen for everyone. It's not like anyone would complain about that.

Mingyu hears feet shuffle into the kitchen, allowing him to let out a small sigh of relief. At least Jun didn't leave him hanging. "Hyung--"

When he turns around, he's not met with Jun's wide grin. It's probably the last person Mingyu ever thought he'd see standing in his kitchen: Minghao.

While he's not wearing a goofy expression like Jun would probably be, he _is_ smiling at Mingyu ever so slightly.

"Hi," he greets softly, giving a little wave.

"Minghao," Mingyu replies dumbly. "What are you doing here?"

"Jun invited me over."

There's a twinge of betrayal Mingyu feels deep in his gut because while Jun is obviously free to hang out with whoever he wants, he knows Jun is well aware Mingyu has a bit of a crush (?) on the stranger (and in turn, was entirely blown off).

"Oh. Um, well, if you're looking for a drink, Jun's mini fridge should be out near the balcony." Mingyu turns his back and squints down at the book in his hands, as if he'll actually be able to read any of it. Really, he just wants to appear busy. He feels... embarrassed.

"Actually..." Minghao's voice cracks a little and Mingyu hates how he can't help but glance over his shoulder at him. "Jun told me you needed help with Chinese?"

Mingyu's whole body freezes and he slowly brings the book to his chest, hiding the text. What on Earth was his hyung trying to do?

"Sorry he tried to pawn that off on you," he laughs, a little awkwardly.

Minghao tilts his head. "Huh? I don't understand."

Mingyu can't help the tiny smile that tugs at his lips. "I told Jun I needed help."

"Oh. I know! He mentioned it and I wanted to come help you."

"You did?" It was Mingyu's turn to cock his head.

Minghao's cheeks seem to flush and it's adorable, Mingyu thinks. He also realizes this is the most the two of them have ever talked, the longest he's ever even gotten to look at him head on.

"What do you need help with?" Minghao doesn't answer Mingyu's question, but his reaction is enough of an explanation.

"Jun wants me to make this," Mingyu explains, finally peeling the book away from his chest and showing it to the other.

Minghao steps into the kitchen and gently takes the book from Mingyu's hands. He quietly reads over it and as he does, Mingyu stares; or rather, his eyes graze. Even though Minghao has a ballcap on, he cranes his head downward to try and make out as much of his face as he can. His nose is round and cute, his lips pouty and pink. And his ears are adorably shaped, sticking out slightly thanks to the hat.

As smitten as he is, Mingyu forces himself to look away; Mystery Frog Man is finally talking to him and he doesn't want to scare him away again.

"It's mapo tofu. We should cook the meat first."

As if it's his own kitchen, Minghao moves to the fridge and begins pulling out ingredients, muttering under his breath in Mandarin. He asks where the bowls and skillets are, Mingyu silently directing him around and watching in awe as he sets everything up.

"Oh, sorry," Minghao chuckles. "I kinda took over. You can mix these things together, if you want?"

Mingyu nods eagerly, taking his place beside Minghao at the counter. They work in silence for a while, his eyes drifting over repeatedly, curious as to what the other is doing. And as to why he is helping in the first place.

They're already cooking the tofu by the time Mingyu gathers the nerve to speak up again.

"You really don't have to help this much. I appreciate it but it's really okay."

Minghao covers all three of the skillets they're using with their lids before glancing at Mingyu, almost shyly. "I want to help, really." He lets out a puff of air. "It's the least I can do considering how I acted before."

Mingyu raises his eyebrows.

"Jun told me that... that you thought I was maybe annoyed or something. With you." Minghao pauses, appearing to mull over what to say next. Mingyu patiently waits, the sound of the party guests' laughter ringing out in the distance. "I wasn't. I'm sorry that it came off that way. I was just embarrassed."

"Embarrassed?" Mingyu echoes, confused.

Minghao giggles a little, his ears suddenly red in color (Mingyu inwardly coos). "Yeah, um..." He rubs at the back of his neck. "I was coming to the arcade every day to see you."

It's as if his brain short-circuits because Mingyu can't comprehend what he was just told: that the guy he was so curiously stuck on was wanting to visit his workplace every day. To see him!

"It's near my dance studio and I walk by it every day when I go to my bus stop. And I just decided to pop in one day to get out of the cold while waiting for the bus and..." Minghao giggles again, the pink spreading to his cheeks, practically down his neck. "Then I just kept going, hoping you would be there."

The breath Mingyu sucks in must be audible because Minghao looks up at him again and his expression reads mortified.

"God, that's really fucking weird, isn't it? I'm sorry--"

"No, no!" Mingyu hurries out, feeling his own face heat up. "I... looked forward to seeing you too."

"Oh." Minghao smiles softly.

There are a million questions rushing through his mind: why did Minghao never talk to him, why did he only stay for such a short time, why did he bolt that day with Jun... "If you don't mind me asking, why did you stop coming then?"

Minghao's hands stutter as he lifts a lid to check one of the skillets. "God, this is super embarrassing," he sighs. Mingyu is about to tell him it's okay, he doesn't have to explain, but Minghao continues. "I created an excuse to go, I guess? If I went to play the games then maybe it wouldn't look so weird or obvious. And if I just played one time every day, I wouldn't be wasting too much money and I'd probably never win, so I'd always have a reason to come back the next day..."

"But then you won," Mingyu finishes for him, silently cursing himself for rigging the machine. He was only trying to make Mystery Frog Man's day and give him an in to talk to him more. Little did he know, he actually deterred him completely.

"Yeah, I won. Which was unexpected. And it made me think... _what am I doing_?" Minghao laughs a little, pushing his hat off his forehead to rub at it. "I promise I'm not usually this weird. I just felt really intimidated."

"Intimidated?" Mingyu says, perhaps a bit more incredulously than he means to. "You were intimidated by me?"

"Yeah. I mean you're friendly and warm and good-looking," (Mingyu can't help the grin that tugs at his lips) "and I felt a little out of my depth, I guess. I don't know, it was stupid."

"I was a little intimidated by you too," Mingyu admits.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But because you were quiet and mysterious and good looking." That gets a laugh out of Minghao, who turns to face Mingyu straight on, leaning his hip against the countertop.

"I told Jun about you and he wanted to see who this Mystery Claw Machine Man was that I kept talking about." _Mystery Claw Machine Man... you kept talking about me?!_ Mingyu's mind screams, his stomach erupting into butterflies. "But then when I found out he knew you, that you guys lived together, I just got even more embarrassed and... yeah. So I'm sorry, really. For being awkward about all of this. I swear I'm usually much more normal."

Mingyu's face is broken out into a full-blown grin at this point. He smacks Minghao's arm affectionately, as if he's known him for years, and while initially the Chinese boy recoils a bit, he relaxes and smiles back.

"Well, I hope that now you'll maybe stop by more often. Or we could actually hang out or get a coffee or something...?" Mingyu trails off, feeling a bit sheepish because it's been sometime since he's asked anyone out like this.

"Yeah, that'd be really nice," Minghao smiles back at him.

"I do have one question though."

"Hm?"

"Why the frog plushies?"

While Mingyu doesn't get a kiss at midnight on New Years, he does get a date with Mystery Frog Man Minghao on the books and that's more than he could ask for, really.

\---

Seollal is just around the corner, meaning the weather is brutally cold and business is slower due to the holidays. Mr. Ko is kind enough to close the arcade for a couple days too, meaning Mingyu doesn't have to manage it over the holiday and can take some time off.

He does come in for a short shift though, just to help clean up and refill the machines.

He's sorting through boxes of plushies and toys when he opens one filled with a bunch of tiny, cute stuffed shiba keychains.

"Where are these going?" he asks his boss.

"In that one," Mr. Ko tells him, pointing at a machine without looking up from his phone.

Mingyu follows the the line to the machine: it's the one filled (or now half-filled) with frog plushies. He can’t help his smile.

When Mingyu gets off work, he hurries to catch the bus and take it across the river. Due to the icy conditions, it takes longer than normal and he bounces excitedly in his seat. While he's due to visit his parents' house later that night, there's one pitstop he has to make before he leaves Seoul for the long weekend.

It's worth the slow trek thought. When he arrives at his destination, he rings the doorbell with one hand while cradling a frog plushie and shiba plushie in the other.

He's greeted with a grin and the most precious giggle he's ever heard, melting into the warm embrace Minghao wraps him up in. He sneaks a kiss and it's followed with another giggle.

Mingyu thinks maybe his hyungs _were_ right: taking up that job at the arcade was a great idea.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! ^^


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